假期英语论文Reports of Ballet Shoe

 Icy Zoë

Information about the publication

Ballet shoes by Noel Streatfield

Published by arrangement with Orion Books Ltd.

 ISBN 84-9789-944-X in hardcover (2005)

Brief introduction of the author:

Noel Streatfield was born in 1895 in Amberly, Sussex, Britain. During the wartime(Ⅰ&Ⅱ), She worked tirelessly, serving in the soldier’s hospital kitchen.In 1936 she wrote the classic Ballet Shoes, and then wrote 30 other children's books. She was awarded the Carnegie gold medal for the distinguished contribution to children’s literature. Noel sadly died in 1986. From the popular ‘Shoes’ series, Ballet Shoes is the only one that has remained in print over the years.

Brief introduction of the novel

This book conveys an exciting story .Pauline, Petrova, and Posy are three orphans who were adopted as babies by an t old man, Great Uncle Matthew (or GUM) ,who collects the three girls one after the other in much the same way that he collected his fossils. GUM sets off on a long sea voyage and the money he has left behind for the care of the children is running out fast so that they are brought up lovingly by his niece Sylvia and her former nanny Nana in pre-war England. Despite the obstacles of being orphaned and taken in by two financially troubled women, the three adopted sisters are given the rare opportunity to attend a prestigious performing arts school. Being brought up in a home where boarders are taken in to help cover expenses, and attending a school where their peers have more material privileges than they do, but they three all find their own right path. Pauline falls in love with acting and becomes an actress, Posy is a natural dancer and becomes a ballerina, and Petrova finds herself not fitting in quite as well at the performing arts school, so she pushes herself to be the best can be and becomes a mechanic and aviator, not forgetting about her own desires and dreams. Eventually, they all achieved their dreams and their own triumphs.

Personal review

I’m a person who actually likes sticking to comics, sci-fi, also fashionable TV shows, as well as some weepy soap operas, however, this time, I pick out this book from numerous books at the book store, whether it was because the cover is attractive, or because I loved dancing, or simply because of the incredible world the author created or I wanted to have the magical life that Pauline, Petrova, and Posy shared. I ended up wishing I'd read it earlier. what captivated me is not only the book has a good plotline, i.e. the main characters becoming sisters by accident and vowing to make their name important, and such, but it also addresses real issues like death and financial difficulty and shows how the main characters manage to cope throughout it all ,they also helped me build an unshakable optimism

Superficially, when first read this book, I’m of the opinion that the author appreciated a kind of idea that beautiful is the only resource of a young girl. However, as pages increased, I consider about the author suggests all of us, especially young girls that the most important thing is to follow our hearts , as well as fulfill our initial hopes. In the book, The three girls, Pauline, Petrova, and Posy, have their own individual characteristics, personality and background, and they didn’t stop for a while to deal with fears, ego, talent, persistence, opportunity, competition, ambition, respect, and being poor among well-off peers, for the path to success is rocky and twisted . Eventually each girl finds her own right path. It reminds me of a learned lesson When dreams won’t die, in which “take the whisper of wisdom that guide us from inside” is emphasized for many times. It’s a great book for girls today growing up in a time when the media continues to suggest that we should all follow the fashion, crowd, etc. What’s more, by reading about the bygone era of the 40s, I learned a lot about the issues of that time period (the illnesses and social issues), and the culture (proper clothes, tea time, and formalities). Its woman-oriented perspective is unique and soft.

However, in my own opinion, while this is a charming story, it is very unrealistic in some ways. The girls, all of whom were orphaned in infancy, never wonder about their real parents, and Posy seems perfectly content with the fact that her mother abandoned her. Gum, who brought all three girls home, simply drops out of their lives before they're old enough to know him -- he never writes to them, comes to visit, asks about them, anything. Yet this never bothers the girls, and they accept his absence as a fact of life. The three girls just concentrate on some aspect of their work; there are never any issues about things outside of it.

Even the ending, while touching, seems a little strange. Instead of worrying about who she will live with(Posy and Pauline are both moving away to different places when promising opportunities arise for them) Petrova is wondering how she will make the Fossil(the name she and her sisters chose for themselves)name famous. If I was in that situation and my two sisters were going to live in two different places, with each of my guardians going to live separately with them, my concerns would be a little more practical. Thankfully, at this point Gum shows up and solves the dilemma.

In spite of that, this is a sweet, charming book for any aspiring young girl, even be appreciated by not-so-young girls as well, just delightfully great reading. A alien website said that this book may be especially good for poor children, for children with stars in their eyes, or for children growing up without blood relatives.

 I'm sure I'll keep rereading it throughout my life. Ballet Shoes will be the best-loved book of my book-loving life, because I too was a dance-crazy; because the three sisters were so different and so special; because the "Britishisms" were so fun to read and learn; and because Noel Streatfeild's writing is good and plain, her characters are clear, and her plots are honest. Through this book, I learned that performing is work and also a joy; that everyone's different selves and lives deserve respect; and that independent girls whose dreams are for themselves rather than Prince Charming, have good lives.

Quoted information

1.back cover’s information of the 2005 edition

2.websites: http://www.whitegauntlet.com.au/noelstreatfeild/

             http://www.amazon.com/Ballet-Shoes-Noel-Streatfeild/dp/0679847596